General Facts
Nova Scotia at a Glance (2008)
(Sources: Statistics Canada, Canada Revenue Agency, Taxation; Fisheries & Oceans Canada; Nova Scotia Government; www.gov.ns.ca/finance/statistics/agency)
Government
Lieutenant Governor: Honourable Mayann E. Francis
Premier: Honourable Rodney MacDonald
Nova Scotia was one of the four original provinces to join Confederation in 1867.
Demography
Population (July 1 Estimates)
Nova Scotia
| 1981 | 1991 | 2006 | 2008 (January 1) |
| 854,646 | 915,102 | 934,405 | 935,573 |
Population of Regional Municipalities and Towns – 8,000+ (July 1 Estimates)
| 1996 | 2001 | 2006 | |
| Halifax | 351,675 | 369,085 | 382,203 |
| Shelburne | 17,404 | 16,661 | 15,940 |
| Yarmouth | 27,951 | 27,560 | 27,059 |
| Digby | 20,981 | 20,067 | 19,247 |
| Queens | 12,712 | 12,038 | 11,765 |
| Annapolis | 22,849 | 22,342 | 21,737 |
| Lunenburg | 48,669 | 48,865 | 48,688 |
| Kings | 60,670 | 60,425 | 60,853 |
| Hants | 40,435 | 41,622 | 41,999 |
| Colchester | 50,431 | 50,619 | 51,178 |
| Cumberland | 34,610 | 33,440 | 32,815 |
| Pictou | 49,868 | 48,205 | 46,988 |
| Guysborough | 11,179 | 10,079 | 9,140 |
| Antigonish | 20,020 | 20,101 | 20,136 |
| Inverness | 21,419 | 20,462 | 19,490 |
| Richmond | 11,281 | 10,490 | 9,859 |
| Cape Breton | 120,567 | 112,157 | 107,367 |
| Victoria | 8,692 | 8,171 | 7,941 |
The Economy
Gross Domestic Product ($ Millions)
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Market Prices | 27,082 | 28,851 | 30,014 | 31,575 | 31, 997 | 33,296 |
| Chained (2002) Dollars | 27,082 | 27,464 | 27,836 | 28,336 | 28,597 | 29,042 |
Sectors
Gross Domestic Product by Industry ($ Millions Chained 2002)
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 724.9 | 684.4 | 698.7 |
| Mining & Oil & Gas Extraction | 782.7 | 704.2 | 762.1 |
| Utilities | 617.7 | 557.3 | 594.2 |
| Resources Industries | 2,125.3 | 1,945.9 | 2055.0 |
| Manufacturing | 2,775.4 | 2,616.3 | 2598.0 |
| Construction | 1,549.3 | 1,686.6 | 1644.9 |
| Goods Producing Industries | 6,737.2 | 6,490.5 | 4242.9 |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 1,040.2 | 1,086.1 | 1103.3 |
| Wholesale & Retail Trade | 2,835.9 | 2,916.3 | 2998.0 |
| Information & Culture Industries | 911.0 | 936.3 | 947.5 |
| Finance & Insurance, Real Estate & Renting & Leasing & Management of Companies | 5,240.6 | 5,399.4 | 5562.1 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 835.2 | 858.1 | 881.0 |
| Administrative & Support, Waste Management | 589.1 | 622.8 | 641.7 |
| Educational Services | 1,531.2 | 1,547.9 | 1555.2 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 2,148.0 | 2,236.3 | 2258.8 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 183.4 | 183.0 | 183.6 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 643.4 | 665.6 | 673.9 |
| Other services | 612.0 | 622.2 | 623.1 |
| Public Administration | 2,751.9 | 2,757.5 | 2788.0 |
| Service Producing Industries | 19, 585.3 | 20,107.2 | 20,216.0 |
| All Industries | 25,705.9 | 25,958.5 | 26,413.2 |
* Figures may not add due to rounding
Transportation
Air
Halifax International Airport, home to 16 airlines and traffic of 3.2 million passengers annually, is the best-equipped airport in Atlantic Canada. It is the only airport in the region with a U.S. preclearance facility, making connections easier and giving passengers access to more U.S. airports.
Major airports with service connecting to all key Atlantic Canadian destinations are also located in Yarmouth and Sydney. Numerous smaller facilities are located throughout the province to serve private craft and flying clubs.
Rail
CN operates the primary inland rail connection linking regional and international shippers to markets throughout Canada and the United States. In addition, CN offers access to an extensive intermodal service through its Halifax Richmond Terminal and service to two container terminals.
There are two shortline railways under provincial jurisdiction providing service to regional and local shippers. VIA Rail operates the Ocean, a six-day a week transcontinental passenger rail service, between Halifax and Montreal.
Road
There are approximately 23,000 kilometers of highways in Nova Scotia. The TransCanada and 100-series highways are all-weather, mostly controlled-access and high speed system that joins with the New Brunswick TransCanada Highway to points in Canada and the United States. Acadian Lines provides a public bus service seven days a week that links to most major communities within the province.
Water
Numerous ports dot the coastline of the province. The Port of Halifax is one of the world’s finest and most sophisticated deep-water ports and is ideally suited to 21st century sea-going trade and commerce. It offers a 21 metre-deep ice free harbour with easy approaches and two of the most modern container terminals in the world, each with on-dock rail service and the capability to handle the most varied ro-ro and dimensional load cargoes, as well as the largest container ships.
Handling about 14 million tonnes of cargo a year, the Port of Halifax is the first westbound and last eastbound port of call on the continent, offering the shortest ocean voyage times for trade across the North Atlantic, through the Mediterranean, into the Suez and around the world.
Geography
The Province of Nova Scotia covers an area of 55,000 sq. km. The mainland part of the Province is connected to New Brunswick and the remainder of Canada by the 28 km. Isthmus of Chignecto. Cape Breton Island is joined to the mainland by the Canso Causeway. Nova Scotia is located at 59° to 67° Longitude and 43° to 48° Latitude. This places Halifax, the capital city, south of Paris, Vienna, Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon. The coastline stretches for 7,400km, but the overall length of the Province is only 575km, while average width is 130km.
Halifax is…
4365 km (2713 miles) southwest of Aberdeen, Scotland
4631 km (2877 miles) southwest of London,UK
3238 km (2012 miles) northeast of Houston,Texas, U.S.
4317 km (2683 miles) northeast from Mexico City, Mexico
Climate
Average daily temperatures at Halifax range from – 4.6° Celsius in January to + 17.5° Celsius in July. Rainfall on an annual basis averages 1,178.1 millimeters.
Oil and Gas Infrastructure
The Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) is producing about 450 million cubic feet of natural gas per day carried by international pipelines to Canadian and U.S. markets. SOEP supplies about 15 per cent of the New England gas market. The pipeline begins in Goldboro where a new LNG receiving terminal has been approved for construction.
The SOEP includes the onshore Goldoro Gas Plant and fractionation plant. The plant, located in Guysborough County, occupies a 45 hectare site and has a processing capability of 17 million cubic metres per day.
Natural gas liquids from the Goldboro Plant are separated and transported via a buried pipeline to Point Tupper for fractionation. With a processing capability of 20,000 barrels of liquid per day, the liquids are separated into propane, butane and condensate.
Supply Community
Nova Scotia is home to Canada's first offshore natural gas discovery and first offshore oil production project. Thirty years of offshore exploration and production experience have allowed companies the opportunity to develop world-class expertise.
The province's 400 energy service companies are recognized internationally for their expertise in training, engineering, construction, transportation, research and specialized services. They have been actively working on projects in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, West Africa and India. New markets of interest also include China, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
Education and Training
Nova Scotia enjoys more post-secondary institutions per capita than any other region in North America, with ready access to these institutions across the province. Programs include geology, petroleum operations, electrical technologies, marine trades and offshore safety and survival training. In fact, Nova Scotia has set the international standard for offshore safety training.
Our universities and colleges also offer energy workers tailor-made training in a variety of disciplines. A consultative approach is used to design customized programs for delivery in Nova Scotia or anywhere else in the world.
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